Improvement in pneumatic diaphragm water-elevators



aitril giant SILAS G. RANDALL, OF PRO-VIDENOE, RHODE ISLAND.

Letters Patent No. 96,265, dated October 26, 1869.

TMPROVENIENT IN PNEUMATIC DIAPHRAGM WTER-ELEVATORS.

lllflxe Schedule referred to in these Letters Patent and making part of the same,

To all whom't't may concern:

Bc it known that I, SILAs G. RANDALL, of the city and county of Providence, and Sta-te of Rhode Island, have invented a certain new and useful Method of Elevvating Water by Puemn'aticPressure; and I do hereby declare the following specification, taken in lconnection with the drawings furnished, and forming a part ofthe same, to be a true, clear, and exacty description thereof.

The nature of my invention consists in the employ.- meut of aiitomatic mechanism, operated by pneumatic pressure, for the purpose of etiecting and maintaining, when desired, a continuous tlow of water raised from wells, cisterns, or other sources ofsupply.

Reference being hadlto'the drawings-v Figure 1 represents, in vertical section, the entire apparatus.

a represents an air-pump, of ordinaryconstruction.

b is a pipe, leading from the base of the pump.

E is -an air-tight vessel, aud is placed at th'ebottom of or submerged in a well or cistern.l It is connected with the pump a by means Aof the pipe b.

This air-tight vessel is divided into three compartments, one upper and two lower.

The upper chamber, marked g, is an air-chamber, so called, from which' the discharge-pipe d conducts water upward to delivery.

The lower portion of the vessel is separated into two compartments, by a flexible diaphragm of vulcanized rubber, or other suitable material, mouldedin a pan-shaped form, the edges of which are tightly sc cured to the sides, top, and bottom of the chamber in any obviously practical manner.v l

The compartment on the right ot' the diaphragm is called the water-chamber, into which water is drawn from the well through spring-valve K, and from which it is discharged to the air-chamber g, through valve j.

The compartment on the left ot' the diaphragm is called the operating o1' compressing-chamber, and contains the operative mechanism for producing the desired end. This chamber communicates with the airpump a, by means ofthe pipe b, through which air is forced for operating the mechanism.

A pipe, c, also communicates with the interior of this chamber, its upper end being always open.

It will be observedthat the pipes b and c, at point of entrance to the chamber, are closely adjacent to each other, and are both opened and closed alternately by one valve, marked l. vThis valve is in the' form of a flat plate, vibrating ,laterally upon a pin or stud, secured to the under side of the top of the chamber, so that when one end ofthe valve is moved to the right 'or left, the-other end is in relation with the pipes c or b, as the case maybe. lhe other end of the plate forming the valve is fork-shaped, with shoulders at the edges, projecting downward. Between thesetwo forked arms is a stud, projecting downward a straight tlat edge, and is secured firmly to the top ofthe cham ber.

It will be remembered that the diaphragm i constitutes' the partition-wall between the water-chamber This and the operating or compressing-chamber. diaphragm is moulded in such a form that its natural tendency is to project its bowl or pan-shaped form into the ,compression-chamber, and is only capable of being reversed by pressure, upon the removal of which it re- .sumes its natural position. f

To the centre of the diaphragm, in the compressionchamber, is connected a rod, which in turn is connected to a lever, fm, secured to the side 0f the chamber by a stnd-jfulcrum.

The upper end of this lever-m is composed of atlat, straight spring, which, when the leverfis vertical, is in rcontact with the studv before described as between the yforked arms of the valve l.

Figure 3 represents the water and compressionchamber'in cross-section, and exhibits` more clearly the valve K.

Corresponding parts are lettered alikein all the figures.

The operation is as follows: By way of illustration, we will presume rthe diaphragm 1' to be projecting into the compression-chamber, as shown intig. 1. The air-pump being lput into operation, air would be forced by way of pipe b into the chamber. The valvel being in position closing the kpipe c, would prevent the escape of the air. As the pressure increased, the diaphragmt would be forced outward, carrying' with it the lower end of the lever in, causing its upper or spring-end to bear strongly against thestud in the top of the chamber, between the forked arms of the valve l. As this spring isbent, it is obvious that when at a certain point it would slip over the stud, and by striking sharply against the. downward-projecting shoulders ot; the forked-shaped valve-arm, produce an instantaneous movement of thevalve l, thereby closing the 'pipe b and opening the pipe'c. By this change 'in the position ofthe valve, the air is permitted to rapidly escape, causing the diaphragm to resume its former position, the lever m in the movement having struck the stud, and the valve-arm again closing the outlet c and opening the inlet b, and a new or repeated movement commences.

'lhe effect of this automatic movement, meantime,

in the water-chamber, has been as follows:

By the inward pressure of the diaphragm against the body of water in the chamber, it has been forced upward, through spring-valve j, into the air-chamber g, thence to delivery by pipe d. Upon the return of the diaphragm toits natural position, the spring-valve K (which oi' course should be provided with suitable strainers) opens inwardly, and thereby admits water from the ywell into the chamber. YVhen the diaphragm again advances, the valve closes.

Although the movement of the operative parts is very rapid, yet, from the great comparative capacity `of the valve K, it secures an ample charge of water.

The chambers being capable oi'construction upon a small scale, will admit of the application and use of the apparatus in connection with artesian wells, and by having a continuous pressure of air, it would maintain an equally 'continuous dow of water;

1t is evident that the form or shape of the diaphragm may be varied as desired; as, for instance, it could be constructed in the form of a convex disk, or a square, with conical projection or the same operative principles would be involved in the use of a' piston and .springs `within a cylinder, with similar automatic mechanism, the Whole being operated by compressed air, substantially in the manner as described,

I am well aware that automatic mechanism, oper- Y ated by water Vunder pressure, has been used in a variety of forms, with greater or less success, under the general nameof hydraulic rams and engines; but I am not aware that any apparatus has, before my present invention, been devised, bymeans of which compressed air is made to operate automatic mechan ism for the purpose of elevating water. A pneumatic apparatus must essentially dii'er from one operated by hydraulics. y

One of the most important uses t-o which my invention can be applied is that of freeing deep mines of water, and supplying at the same time a liberal supH ply of fresh air, with no greater requisite outlay o'f motive-power than is now expended in the perform ance of either operation.

Having thus described my invention, I desire to be distinctly understood that I do not claim the elastic diaphragm, nor the'arraugement oi the induction and eduction-valves in the water-chamber, as such have been long in use; .but

I do claim as new, and forvwhich Idesire Letters Patent of the UnitedStates- In a compartment-pump, in which the matter to be forced or elevated is separated from the operative the alternating valve l, connected to and operated by the reciprocating compartment, substantially as shown mechanism, the combination'of` the pipes b and c, and 

